Steven Bergwijn worked miracles for Tottenham Hotspur against a very determined Leicester City side at King Power Stadium on Wednesday, January 19, 2022.
During the Premier League game, Leicester City took the lead in the 24th minute, thanks to Patson Daka’s strike. Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur canceled Leicester’s lead in the 38th minute.
Afterward, the two teams could not score until the 76th minute when Leicester City’s James Maddison restored the lead for the home team.
In the 79th minute, coach Antonio Conte decided to introduce Steven Bergwijn into the game with the hope that the 24-year-old Dutch winger would be able to change the state of the game.
The regular 90 minutes of the game ended and Conte’s decision failed to pay off. It was in the additional 5th minute that Steven Bergwijn brought Tottenham Hotspur back into the game.
When everyone thought the game would end in a 2-2 draw, Bergwijn took advantage of Harry Kane’s through pass to score the winning goal in the 7th additional minute.
His heroic injury-time goals gave Tottenham Hotspur unprecedented victory over Leicester City away from home which has pushed Tottenham to the 5th spot with 36 points in 19 games, a point above 6th placed Arsenal.
Before Steven Bergwijn’s performance against Leicester City, strong speculations linked the Netherlands international with a move out of Tottenham Hotspur.
The Dutch winger reportedly wanted to leave Spurs because he was not playing regularly. Clubs like Ajax and Sevilla have reportedly shown interest in him during the January transfer window but coach Conte has always insisted that the 24-year-old winger is part of his plans.
Conte’s belief in the winger yielded results in the Premier League game against Leicester City as his two late goals gifted Tottenham Hotspur the needed three points away from home.
After the 3-2 win over Leicester City, Tottenham Hotspur’s coach Antonio Conte stressed Steven Bergwijn has always been an important player at the club.
The Italian coach said: “In the past when someone asks me about Steven Bergwijn, I was very clear. I said that for me he is an important player because he has characteristics that in our squad we don’t have many creative players.
“He is very good in one vs one, good to beat the man. He can play striker, he can play number 10 and for us, for me, he is an important player and we have to try to improve, to become stronger, not to lose a player and become less strong.
“Steven is a player that if he’s in the good physical condition and he has good fitness, he can start the games or he can come in and change the game. For me, I think he’s an important player and you know very well the player has to be happy and I think the player is happy to stay with us and play for Tottenham.”
On the outcome of the thrilling Premier League game, coach Conte added: “I think it was an amazing game. Honestly, we didn’t deserve to lose the game, and also we didn’t deserve to draw because we created many chances and in many circumstances, we were unlucky.
“To arrive in added time losing 2-1 was honestly a great, great disappointment. In the end, my players showed great resilience, great desire. Don’t give up. This must be our philosophy, don’t give up and fight until the end.
“They showed me great desire. When we had equalized, we got the ball and we wanted to restart the game and try to win. I think it was good for me to see this type of attitude from my players.”
Antonio Conte reacts to #thfc late comeback win tonight. [BT Sport] pic.twitter.com/2Zqj0N4wVF
— Hotspur Related (@HotspurRelated) January 19, 2022
So far this season, Steven Bergwijn has scored three goals and provided two assists in 14 games in all competitions. His contract with Tottenham Hotspur would expire on June 30, 2025.
